A Tough Situation
If you have tried to get a rental car on Kauai recently you’ve discovered the most recent consequence from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, rental car companies reduced their fleets by some 40%. One recent report suggested that Hawaii rental car fleets are about 10,000 cars short of normal. I personally think that number is higher.
You can check out the Beat of Hawaii’s article that goes into great detail. The purpose of this post is to provide links to various sources of rental cars and other transportation options.
- Discount Hawaii Car Rental
- Costco (for members)
- Kauai County Ground Transportation Options
- New Kauai Hop on Hop off shuttle
- Turo, a peer-to-peer service, an AirBnB for cars
- Auto Slash, which searches for discount codes
Some people are getting really creative and renting HomeDepot vans and trucks or even Uhaul vans. I don’t suggest looking on Craigslist – just too many scams out there. The biggest tip right now is to get your rental car before you get your flight! We are paying nearly $1,500 for two weeks in October 2021. That price drops to about $850 in April of 2022. The thinking is that by then the rental car companies will have replenished their fleets. We’ll see.
Do you even need a car?
If you are staying at Kahala you may not even need a car. There are four restaurants (Brenneckes, Brenneckes Deli, the Honu Bar, and Kalapaki Joes) within easy walking distance. There is a shopping center about a mile away with a Starbucks and a small grocery store. The beach is an easy 5 minute walk. There are good hikes nearby.
You might think about getting a bike, which puts you near enough to Kukui’ula shopping center and Lawai Beach, plus even more restaurants.